1 Answer

Direct contact with shingles can give chickenpox to someone who hasn’t already had it, but only while the blisters are present.

The infecting virus is concentrated in the fluid within them. Shingles ceases to be a problem to others once the blisters have dried up completely.

Even though the marks left behind on the skin may not yet have faded away altogether.

Whilst contagious, it is probably best that sufferers avoid colleagues and adult friends and family that have not had chickenpox in the past, those who are trying to conceive, and pregnant women.

Just how contagious one is depends largely on the extent and position of the rash, how exposed the affected area is and how badly blistered and weeping it is.

Unfortunately, the pain is not an indicator of whether or not you are contagious. It is possible both to be contagious and pain-free, and vice versa.

The rash usually clears within 2-3 weeks. The nerve pain often lasts for several weeks more than the rash, and can last for months or years in a small minority of sufferers, especially the elderly.

Read more: http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/ate/infections/202838.html#ixzz2rtj0GfEG 
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